Trees Showing Damage After Brutal Temperature Drop Last Year

DENVER (CBS4)- Trees in the Denver metro area are showing damage as the season changes from summer into fall. The damage comes from last November when the temperature dropped from a mild winter day to 18 degrees.

In November 2014 temperatures along the Front Range dropped more than 30 degrees over a period of just a few hours.

That has left thousands of trees with bark peeling off and dead leaves weeks before fall officially begins. Many different species were impacted like cherry and plum trees, Siberian Elms, maples and willow trees.

Of the 2.2 million trees in Denver, city foresters estimate that 10,000 died. That makes a huge dent in the urban canopy that offers shade and provides storm water mitigation.

It's also created an expensive problem with each tree valued at $1,000 to cut down and replace.